The Secret (Magnolia Grove #4) - SERIES COMPLETE

Chapter 14 - {Cammie}

HOLDEN LEFT, AND now I'm all alone for the first time in my life. Is this what it felt like to be him all those years? Because I can't stop the tears from falling no matter how hard I try. Rolling over, I hold one of the pillows and snuggle into the covers as much as I can. There's no comfort in this bed. Alarms beep, doors slam, and the pungent combination of sterility along with sickness and urine invades my nostrils. Pulling my gown up, I wonder if Holden was close enough to me to transfer any of his scent, but there's nothing there.

I wanted to scream for him to stop, not to walk away from me again, but I couldn't. While my body is functional, my mind is in a haze. It's almost like an out of body experience where life's happening all around me. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to coordinate my mind to comprehend what's happened today. It's like I'm paralyzed.

Oliver says he's not gay, that he didn't cheat, and he wants me back. And hearing those words was enough to make me want to vomit. Not because I'd ever for a second go back to him. Being apart—being with Holden—made me see just how miserable I really was. That's not how I want to spend the rest of my life. But what caused my stomach to revolt was wondering if I am really at fault for our break-up? Am I the cheater, the whore?

Who am I? Do I even know?

My head nods as the tears continue to seep out of my eyes and down my cheek. I know who I am, and I know what I want. I just don't know if it's possible.

A knock on the door startles me. Maybe Holden came back. Funny how something as simple as a tapping on the door can fill my gut with such hope and excitement. It also triggers that nagging pit that always seems to be the beginning of me violently vomiting.

"Come in," I say, begging and hoping it's not a nurse.

There's a bouquet of daisies and hot pink roses in a square vase with a pink polka dot ribbon tied around it. They're hiding his face, but the strut gives it all away. "Look what the cat dragged in."

I sit up, sniffing and wiping the tears with the backs of my hands.

"Why are you crying?" Wells asks, his eyes the same color as mine filled with worry and his forehead wrinkled. He's taller than Holden. Not quite as muscular. Looks like he's lost the jacket to his suit, and his first few buttons to his shirt are undone under his loosened thin, black tie. "These are for you."

"Thank you. Will you just put them over on that shelf?" I ask, pointing to the one closest to the wall with the television beside the huge window that has a spectacular view of the parking lot.

"Yeah. Why were you crying, Cam?"

"Lots of reasons. It doesn't matter. I'm glad you're here."

He turns around and shoves his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry I haven't been answering your calls. I've been working pretty much nonstop trying to get things ready for this new project I'm working on. But I got your text and came right away. After I picked up the flowers, of course." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Cam."

"Wait, what text?"

He arches a brow. "The one you sent me about an hour and a half ago. Wait. What's wrong with you again? I thought you were vomiting blood. Were you in a wreck or something?" He tilts his head. "Is your head okay?"

I squint my eyes at him. "My head is fine. Are you sure the text was from me?"

"Seriously? Yeah."

"Let me see it. I don't believe you."

He shrugs, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Whatever. Here." Then he smirks. "Don't read the ones from Ashley, Carrie, or..." He glances up at the ceiling, tapping his finger over his chin. "What was the other one's name?"